Nick Kyrgios withdrawal turns French Open into comical replacement race

Bernard Tomic - still wondering who he will play in the first round of the French Open. Photo / Photosport

When Nick Kyrgios quit the French Open at the 11th hour it did what Kyrgios does best - caused chaos.

Not that the Australian was at fault this time.

But when he pulled out of his first round match at Roland Garros against compatriot Bernard Tomic, it set off a chain of events to find an opponent for Tomic, a matter that will only be resolved tomorrow morning (Tuesday).

Seven so-called "lucky losers" had already been entered into the draw because other players had pulled out, meaning the organisers had run out of readily-available replacement.s

Two players may be in the race to Paris to sign in as Tomic's replacement. They include Argentinian Marco Trungelliti, who according to ESPN has bundled his younger brother, mother and grandmother into a car in Barcelona for the nine-hour dash to make the Grand Slam tournament.

The initial favourite in this wacky race was India's Prajnesh Gunneswaran who after exiting in the third round of the qualifying tournament quit Paris for a challenger tournament in Italy.

Gunneswaran had already confirmed his entry in Vicenza, so could not do a u-turn to play at Roland Garros. But the rule book has thrown up a loophole, if the Vicenza director gives him a release.

😢😩😢😩 Sorry guys, I tried everything I could to be ready for @rolandgarros but I came up short. I’ll be back though. ❤️🙏🏽 pic.twitter.com/jZ7OQpm28H

— Nicholas Kyrgios (@NickKyrgios) May 27, 2018

The avalanche of withdrawals has seen the most lucky losers make the 128-man field in Paris since the Open era began 50 years ago, and there is a reason for this.

In an effort to stop injured players taking the court to collect their money in Grand Slams, a rule change means they will still receive 50 per cent of their first round money if they withdraw. The other half goes to the lucky loser who takes their place.

Kyrgios has an elbow problem and has not played a singles match for eight weeks. He said it was "too risky" to test the injury out in potentially long matches on clay.